Currently the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria is 5.6% and NACA claims that 6.1million Nigerians are living with HIV.
In my opinion, these figures are conservative as I believe we have glitches in our bio-statistics in these parts. That, however, is for another day.
An issue that is gradually assuming significant proportion however is HIV discordance. Discordance simply means there is an incompatibility between a man and his wife i.e the presence of the HIV in one member of a couple. Put simply, the man is positive and the wife is negative or vice versa.
Ongoing research on the cause of HIV discordance has not been successful enough in describing the pathogenesis. What I can affirm is that it exists and I see it everyday.
The discordant rate is on the increase and I believe we need give the issue the much deserved attention. A study done in UCH Ibadan puts discordance rate in the Prevention-Of-Mother-To-Child-Transmission Clinic (PMTCT) as high as 45%. That's startling! It means of every 10 women who attend that clinic, 4 have sero-negative spouses.
Unfortunately, unfaithfulness is the reason most adduced for the trend. Even though it may be a factor, it really cannot completely explain the problem. Factors implicated in discordance include the anatomical structure of the genitals of men and women, circumcision of males and level of sexual experience prior to marriage. Of course there are the other means of transmission such as intravenous drug abuse, vertical transmission, needle and other sharp infected pricks and blood transfusion.
It is scientifically proven that the females are more susceptible to getting the virus via unprotected intercourse by virtue of the anatomy of the external genitalia. The vagina presents a wider surface area and secretes more fluids thus the transmission rate is twice as high from a man to a woman than from a woman to a man. What this means is that, a 'lucky' man could have intercourse with an infected woman twice before getting the virus while a woman could have intercourse just once with an infected man and become infected. It thus leaves the probability that a negative wife could -by chance- not transmit the virus to the husband. This however is not a hard and fast rule. It is totally 'by chance'. Its science. Did I hear someone say its a man's world?
Male circumcision is also a factor as it has been documented scientifically that circumcision reduces transmission rates. Some reports say it reduces transmission by as much as 60%. Little wonder, the male Zimbabwean legislators recently submitted themselves for mass circumcision. Unfortunately, this only holds for the males. Again, did someone say its a man's world?
Another argument is the level of the female's sexual experience before marriage. From the foregoing about anatomical susceptibility, a woman who has had multiple sexual partners in the past would be particularly at risk.
I spoke to a client recently who is currently on antiretroviral therapy. She refuses to disclose her status to her husband. She has probably been on medication for at least a year now with the husband not even having the slightest idea. Yet, they live together, they eat together and they sleep together. More worrisome is the fact that in a bid to keep her secret a secret, she allows him to have unprotected intercourse liberally just so he doesn't suspect anything. Her fear is that the man will send her packing the day he finds out she's positive and he presumably is negative. The contention will be how to explain the discordance without tagging her 'promiscuous and wayward'.
So she is faced with two evils. Which is the lesser one? Does she come out clean with hubby and risk losing her home? Or does she continue the mendacious modus operandi and continue to expose her 'beloved' hubby to the virus?
Ethically, its not my business. My primary allegiance lies with my patient. I have tried unsuccessfully to convince her to tell her hubby, she will not hear of it. She says she 'loves' him too much for him to leave her and she argues she might not survive the heartache if he did leave her. Then again, her hubby could be my friend, who I met socially or even a childhood buddy. This work no easy o!
It then begs the question, what is the place of marital vows? They both swore before God to be together, in sickness and in health. She currently jeopardizes the life of her beloved husband while the husband also has not assured her he'll remain with her 'in sickness'. There must be something in his demeanor that makes her so certain he'll leave her. But then again, is it possible that she's just paranoid?
She's not alone. Several other discordant women and men continue to hide their statuses from their spouses. I know several. Some close acquaintances, some professionally. Call them cowardly, call them selfish but they are only being self preservative as any other human will be.
We should talk about the causes of discordance. It is clear from the foregoing that promiscuity is not the sole reason why a couple could be discordant. She may have been transfused poorly screened blood or even blood that had the virus in the latent period (window period). Surely, she's not to blame for that! He may have been inadvertently cut by the barber's public non-sterilized clipper. Who knows, its all by chance. He may even be a Doctor who was exposed occupationally. He may have had needle pricks with HIV infected blood. She may have gone for an innocuous tattoo or even just abused drugs intravenously as a teenager. Stupid, yes but have we not all done stupid things? Thankfully, we have information now. Who knows if there was no such luxury at the time?.
Overall, I believe stigmatization is at the center of the problem. Culturally, we still have serious acceptance issues. We stigmatize almost subconsciously. Maybe the trend will change when we begin to relate equally and respectfully with PLWHA.
In the mean time, get tested and know your status. Unlike before, these days, what you don't know can kill you.
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Nigeria should be one of the few places on Earth where stardom can be attained by doing the silliest of things.
I believe the first time I heard of Goldie was around 2009. What struck me initially was the way she reminded me of the WWF wrestler Gold-dust. Its just not their affinity for the Gold colour and dark hue around their eyes but also their - what I perceive as- queer behavior.
Oluwabimpe 'Goldie' Harvey claims she is an accomplished songwriter, performer and singer. Oluwagoldie also describes her career a resounding success. As motivators like Fela Durotoye will remind us, success should be defined by an individual's personal terms. What that means is that, even though Goldie perceives herself a colossal success, some other folks might beg to disagree. Therefore, I will excuse Goldie's delusion of grandeur.
I like Oluwagoldie's background educationally. From Greensprings to St John's Lagos to University of Sunderland, the Ekiti-born crooner certainly had above-average education. This is one of the reasons I believe there must be some iota of common sense somewhere in her. Goldie however, amuses me.
In what seemed like a desperate bid to carve a niche for herself, Oluwagoldie has lamely tried to emulate Lady Gaga. Not just in appearance but also in style of music. Goldie will unsuccessfully argue that what we see is simply a young artiste trying to express herself. She will say she is simply being herself and not trying to copy anybody. She will say 'Lady Gaga is Lady Gaga and Goldie is Goldie'. Rubbish!
More painful is Goldie's immutable and unmistakable lack of talent. Goldie cannot sing. Simple. She can claim to have started 'singing' from some Church choir as even Terry G does, I don't care. She has a regular voice, like every other female at puberty. She is currently signed to Kennis Music where she only competes with the shrilling Essence, the nasalizing Jaywon and the constipated Eedris Abdulkareem. No disrespect to Oluwagoldie but vocally, I strongly doubt she will ever match the likes of Tiwa Savage, Omawunmi, Lara George, Waje or even the fledgling Chidinma.
Many Nigerians only knew Goldie remotely till her foray into the Big Brother show some weeks ago. The mess was cosmic and Goldie failed woefully under the scrutiny of Nigerians. Week in, week out, folks agitated for her expulsion from the house and when it eventually came about two weeks ago, Twitter and BlackBerry went haywire. Finally! She was out! I'll not remind anyone of some of the unwholesome words used to describe her following the eviction.
Goldie was never going to be a serious contender for Miss Nigeria, judging by face value. I always knew that her hopeless reliance on make-up could not carry her for so long. Another thing Nigerians -especially guys- noticed by Goldie's misadventure in South Africa was the extreme unattractiveness of her face to the visual organs. This of course is simply for the need to use politically correct terms. Goldie gives Kemistry hope of a brighter tomorrow.
I'm not one of Big Brother Africa's fans but the noise Goldie generated on social media was interesting. She notably went to the house and fell in love with some mean-looking dude. Then she portrayed the image of a needy woman who was not self-assured. Some folks insist she was only playing the game. I choose to think otherwise. I have listened to the lyrics of her songs. I have watched her music videos. Goldie has a very severe form of identity crisis. She's not quite sure who she is or who she wants to be and that is what bothers me.
Albeit, its unsolicited advice, I want to implore Goldie to cut the crap. It is not too late to start something meaningful. First thing is to lose the blonde hair and the eerily long eyelashes. She should return home, dust her certificate and start hounding Jobberman.com. Music is not really her calling. Maybe she can manage artistes or manage a record label. She probably will flirt with a clothing line sometime soon. She'll be misled into thinking her twisted taste in apparel is a fashion statement which she should commercialize. Goldie, you don't have friends o! Don't let them deceive you. They just want to laugh at you. Nobody will wear those clothes. Ask Charley Boy and Eucharia Anunobi or better still, your very dear friend Denrele Edun.
Goldie Harvey is a star, whether I like it or not. She's making money from her brand and that is the most important thing.
But finally, I must beg her. For the sake of her unborn kids. She must avoid procreating with Prezzo like a plague. She must flee without looking back. It will be a national calamity to cross-breed those two. I'll suggest Uti or Van Vicker. Bad as e bad sef, Timaya. The most important thing is to dilute the force of her charming face.
She should also avoid Aro or the left side of Yaba. Her outlandish display of colours is a documented symptom of Schizophrenia and I worry they might be reluctant to let her go if she visits.
Let us wait and see what direction Oluwagoldie's career sails in the coming years.
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First off, my heartfelt felicitations with Ms Arunma Oteh. She lost one battle but eventually won the war.
Ms Oteh is obviously quite intelligent going by her first class degree in Computer Science from UNN and her MBA from Harvard Business School. Also judging from her sterling career at African Development Bank, one can safely assume the lady is worth her salt.
My country has to be one of the most comical on any atlas. Every-time I think we could not go any lower, there's something in the news to jab us out of our slumber.
During the House hearing into the near collapse of the capital market, most of us watched with horror how Ms Oteh and Honorable Hembe washed their very dirty linen in public. It was on live television and it seemed to me at one point that the rest of us did not exist. In that world, Ms Oteh and Hembe were the only human beings alive.
Hembe is currently prancing around courtrooms at the moment. Anyone who watches him close enough in court will notice the air of confidence around him. The young man is certain the attempts at prosecuting him will be efforts in futility. You do not need me to tell you why.
When the food bills generated by Transcorp Hilton Abuja hit the public, most average Nigerians wondered how anybody consumed N850,000 worth of food in one day. Ms Oteh graciously clarified the misinformation. She stated that the highest feeding bill generated on a single day during her stay was N83,000. This is just for food. When you are big, you are big. I guess she's modest, considering that our C-in-C consumes 3million naira worth of food daily.
Eventually she was asked to take a compulsory leave in June 2012. We all erroneously assumed government was finally taking a firm stand on corruption and corrupt public officers. Alas, we were like them that dream.
Last week, Ms Oteh was recalled to head SEC.
The erosion of the moral fabric of my country has attained such unbelievable proportion. If Arunma's disgraceful showing on national television during the House probe is not enough to send her back to the African Development Bank with a 'thank you' note then I wonder what will suffice.
While I try every day to believe that there's hope for the country, I must say it is certainly a very difficult task. Who exactly recalled Oteh? With what criteria was she recalled? What impression are we giving to other Otehs in the making? What impression are we giving to our young unemployed people who would kill to earn Oteh's daily food bill every thirty days? How do we expect to clean up our now decrepit image globally when we allow such impunity?
Naturally, I don't expect answers to the fore-mentioned rhetorical questions. Does anybody give a damn?
Tunde Bakare keeps saying it takes idiots to be ruled by fools.
The Arabs took their destinies into their own hands. The government was forced and is now forced to respect its citizenry. They don't respect us here, that is why such decisions fly over our heads.
They know we'll murmur 'It is well' and move on.
They were once us, they know how we think. They don't expect anything different and we have not offered anything different.
Until then, we can be sure that each time we hear 'In the news today....', it will be something more absurd and insolent from the corridors of power.
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Yesterday evening, I read a disturbing report about how the Federal Government is proposing to pay a sort of 'bursary' of N5,000 to women who attend antenatal clinics across the country. This they believe will help reduce the currently absurd maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.
I was not just shocked, I was also incensed.
Honestly, I think we need to start shooting some of our policy makers. It is bad enough that they do not respect us as citizens, they do not need to rub it on our faces that they are in power. I would rather they kept mute and let us suffer peacefully than patronize us. They are incredible people.
Now, superficially, it looks like an ingenuous idea. Give Mrs A N5,000 for registering for antenatal care and she'll spread the news when she gets home that FG is doing a bonanza in the hospital. Mrs B and Mrs C - being rural woman who are uneducated and barely make enough to feed themselves - rush down to the hospital to register for antenatal and collect their own N5,000. What next? Does the FG plan to pay the women at every antenatal visit till they deliver or is this cheap propaganda just for the first booking visit?
Reports say 60,000 Nigerian pregnant women die annually. Staggering figure. WHO puts it at 840 per 100,000 live-births. http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=2223.
That's a brief summary of the gravity of the situation. We are only better than about 8 countries in the world. This top 9 list also has about 6 war-torn countries. Even Iraq comes in at 85 per 100,000 live-births. Notably, Greece has a maternal mortality rate of 2 per 100,000 live-births. Greece is supposed to be in economic chaos. Nigerians, smile...Jesus loves you!
I really would like to meet the proponents of this N5,000-antenatal theory. They are surely imbeciles. To believe that the panacea to our growing maternal mortality rate is giving monetary incentives to pregnant women. Do we even think at all in Nigeria? Am I the only person amazed by such folly? Surely, not only does this government not respect us but they also mock us!
Goal 5 of the Millennium Development Goals concerns improving maternal health. The goal is time-bound to 2015, that is 3years away. It will take something cosmic to get us to achieve this particular goal in 3years. While the Federal Ministry of Health continues to embezzle money ear-marked for MDG's and contractors walk away smiling, it will translate to foolishness to have such hope. Only last week, I read reports of how FMOH fraudulently siphons money by over-inflating contracts. Yet, we continue to mention 2015.
The rot is now so unfettered that the best the brains in FMOH can now come up with is to offer money to improve antenatal patronage. Seriously?
The theory must be a joke. The government is yet to tackle the root of the problem. It is only proposing to scratch the surface or at best, coat the decay superficially. The crux of the matter remains the sacred 'Siamese twins' - Education and Health.
Educate these women. Give them sound and quality basic education and empower them. An educated woman knows she should seek antenatal care when she gets pregnant. You do not need to give her a kobo. Why? Its simple. She understands.
She understands the essence and concept of antenatal care. She understands the benefits of antenatal care. She understands the dangers of poor care during pregnancy. She can afford antenatal care. When the hospitals are available, accessible and affordable, the women will come. When the hospital staff are well trained and well remunerated to attend to these women then we won't need to give them a dime to encourage them to show up for antenatal care. The goal must be to ensure these women understand the entire concept. It is not enough to throw money at them as if to say 'Oya take N5,000...if you like come back, if you like go and die!'
How dare this government handle our lives with such levity and callousness. It is wicked for anyone to allow this trend to continue unchecked and to think that the best solution they can proffer is monetary incentive for antenatal care is grossly shameful and absurd. Woe to all such simpletons.
Like a dog chasing its own tail, we'll keep running in circles. Movement but no progress. Talk but no action. Steam but no motion. A total sham and farce of a government.
By 2015, I suspect strongly that the figures would have doubled. Maybe that's the plan really. To see how high maternal mortality can reach before the rope snaps. Its 60,000 per year now, maybe our aim is 500,000 by 2015.
Trust me, at this rate, we'll be there sooner than later.
So, yesterday, while I had 'brunch' at my regular buka, I noticed all the women were staring at a screen with rapt attention. I turned to see what was on and unfortunately, it was a lame re-enactment of the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The scene I caught was the point of tossing the three men into the furnace and the appearance of the angel making them four in the fire. The appropriate representation of a simple fire seemed like an arduous task for the film producers.
Nollywood is currently the second largest film industry in the world. Its unprecedented growth in the last decade has left even the world renowned Hollywood gasping for breath. A whooping 200 home video movies are churned out every month in Nigeria making us second only to India's Bollywood. Like our fertility in the bedroom, Nigeria's movie production is evolving at an unbridled pace.
Growth can sometimes be retrograde and we must reassess the indices with which we define our movie industry growth. Just like their colleagues in the music industry, actors and actresses in Nigeria now are having a filled time. Unlike the days of Hubert Ogunde and Ola Balogun, movie producers now have money to spend and technology to work with. More importantly, they have an astonishingly large viewership. Africa Magic is the channel of choice in most Nigerian homes. Such was the success of the industry that not only did DSTV sagely introduce less expensive subscription plans they also developed the channel in different languages to capture as many homes as possible. For as low as N2,500, you can watch Africa Magic, A.M Plus, A.M Yoruba, A.M Swahili and A.M Hausa. Impressive!
When I flip through channels on television and I see movie titles like 'Hypertension', 'Diabetes', 'Love'. 'Dangerous Love', 'Deadly Love', 'Is this Love?' and such absurd titles, I understand why we produce 200 movies monthly. We've probably exhausted all the sensible titles. Our movie producers and artistes need to make good money so its now about turn-over. Quantity, not quality. Who cares if the movie makes any sense? So long as lonely housewives and a few retarded young people are sworn disciples of 'home video'.
Apart from the amazing subtitles in the Yoruba movies, the fact that a movie's not complete till a voodoo man is involved also intrigues me. There's always one 'Baba' with red cloth. There's always a wicked mother-in-law who has tied her daughter-in-law's fallopian tubes or there's always a young man who used his first wife for money rituals and eventually runs mad at the end.
Yes, the madness. What is it with Nigerian movies and madness? And interestingly, there's only one form of psychiatric illness in Nigeria as depicted in our movies, it is frank psychosis. If the mad man or woman has not barked like a dog or jumped up several times while attempting to strip himself of his clothing then the madness has not started. If only these producers knew how many psychiatric patients parade offices and roads in Lagos with no sign of the illness.
Another thing that gets to me is the monotonous roles played by certain , if not most, of my Nigerian artistes. Pete Edochie and Alex Usifo are almost always wicked Chiefs or Igbo traditional rulers. Patience Ozokwor is almost always a wicked mother-in-law. Ramsey Nouah is almost always a lover-boy who is in love with the only lady he is forbidden from being with or a Crown Prince who wants to marry a commoner from the neighboring warring village. Apart from Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, both of whom we know do not have the I.Q to take on more intelligent roles, every other American artiste is versatile.
In my opinion, what we have in our industry is apparent growth. There are only a hand-full of quality productions. Even if the production is dusky, the script should be sound so as to pass a message. Worthy of note are the works from the Mainframe production company. They have sound and intelligent scripts and this is I believe should be emulated by all other producers and script-writers.
But again, they are now the hallmark of Nigerian entertainment. I am only worried for the kids who would grow up watching such handicapped productions. I often ask myself how these home videos stimulate viewers mentally. It certainly does not brush up on anybody's I.Q, at best, it lessens it.
Explain to me please, how a movie is titled 'Lady Gaga' or 'Beyonce and Rihanna'. The more amazing thing is that the actresses will try to imitate these people in the roles. Is the film about the life and times of Lady Gaga? If it is not, then why on earth are they dressing like Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Rihanna in the movies? I strongly doubt I will ever understand these things.
And the most annoying part is the way they end the movies. You see 'To God be the Glory' or 'Watch out for Part 2' or 'Thanks be to the Most High'. They make it sound like it was a pleasurable experience. By my assessment, I believe they should end with phrases such as- 'Oh Sorry, you just wasted 2hours of your life' or 'Poor you, there's a Part 3'.
Beyond all this tirade, from Pound Road Aba to Ebinpejo Lane Idumota to Iweka Road Onitsha back to Nnamdi Azikwe Street Idumota, marketers are making a kill and they would have it no other way. What's their business with the dulling effect the movies have on the grey matter of your cerebrum?
Make anybody wey dey find IQ booster tune to Discovery or History Channel. No be by force after-all.
The rest of you can grab your copies NOW!
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2nd Corinthians 3 vs 17 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty'
A friend of mine once invited me to the Sunday service in his church at the Muson center Lagos. His selling point was that I would be enthralled by the number of 'hot babes' in the service. He tried to be modest but his facial expression while he described the type of things women in his church came to church clad in, gave him away. It was obvious they were pretty skimpy.
I grew up in an orthodox church. We are not as extreme as some denominations I know but we have ground rules for modesty. Women are required to cover their heads for services, they are required to be appropriately covered up anatomically and they are not allowed to wear pants. You can say what you like about the seeming 'uptight' nature of the church but it has worked for them. And I appreciate their stand on these issues.
In my almost three decades in life, I have noticed how human beings take liberty for granted. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. The uptight orthodox worship centers also appreciate the tendency of human beings to abuse privilege so better to nip it in the bud. There is a popular adage in Yoruba that says 'that which you do not plan to eat, do not bring close to the nose to perceive its odor'.
Yes, I admit the orthodox churches, as well as mine, are fraught with unwholesome traits like back-biting, adultery, fornication, slandering, etc, just like the unorthodox ones. They at least make an effort to curb waywardness in the temple of God. Take it or leave it, it is hallowed ground and it is not a question of 'state of the mind' as some folks submit. I can't see your mind, it is your mammary glands I can see. I am not a wizard who sees 'mind things'. I am a full grown man with functional visual centers in my brain. I can see!
I am not a saint. All I am asking for is 3 hours of sanity. Three hours on a Sunday morning, to sit among 'brethren' and be ministered to without being embarrassed by the thoughtlessness and sheer insensitivity of some female 'worshipers'.
Interestingly, most of those concerned ignore passages such as 1st Timothy 2 vs 9 'I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves not with expensive hairstyles, or gold or pearls or expensive clothes' and promptly state the one I opened the article with. Liberty!
Dear sisters, we have Monday to Saturday and even Sundays from 2pm to express the moral bankruptcy that now pervades our generation. I doubt a few hours on a Sunday morning of sane dressing will kill anybody. We must be careful how far we stretch the liberty we supposedly enjoy in the presence of God. Too much of anything is bad.
While we argue that it really doesn't matter what we wear if our minds are truly set on God, it is important that we allow common sense prevail.
It will be interesting to see how a half-naked evangelist walks up to me to tell me about the gospel of Christ. When she finishes 'preaching' to me, verily, verily, I say unto thee, I will not let her depart from me without collecting her number. All na 'follow-up'.
When a young man starts to confuse church with night clubs, you know for certain that the end is nigh.
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Music they say is food for the soul.
Aldous Huxley aptly submits and I quote 'After silence,that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music'
For the purpose of this article and for my eclectic taste in music, I will like to see myself as a connoisseur of good music. Did you laugh? Well, believe it or not, I'm as big of a fan of ABBA as I am of King Sunny Ade. I believe very strongly that good music should be ageless and should transcend generations. So has the works of Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Micheal Jackson, Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obe, Onyeka Onwenu, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and a couple of others.
Interestingly, these artistes serenaded my father and their compositions have somehow succeeded in enchanting me also. There's a very cogent reason. The singular word is 'Content'.
The meteoric rise of Nigeria's music industry is certainly remarkable. The artistes in my generation are making music in an era where a lot of money is circulating in the sector and I assume they could not have picked a better time to be musicians than now. We have international collaborations every other day now. Our artistes are breaking the Walls of Jericho and starring the biggest names worldwide in their tracks. Certainly, that must be some, if not a colossal improvement from the days of old.
A quick glance through the music player on my computer will leave a regular human being confused as to my personality and my taste in music. I stock all genres and artistes. A glance through will also reveal that two artistes have the most songs in my library. These two would be Asa and Lagbaja. Each must have about 20 songs against their name in my library. Again, it is not coincidence.
Whilst Lagbaja offers a purely afro-oriented style, Asa brings a certain freshness into soul music. Incidentally, both of them are skilled instrumentalists. Lagbaja is renowned for his dexterity playing the saxophone while Asa's expertise on the guitar is exceptional. I am a firm believer in the fact that the future of music lies solely in the ability to play instruments.
The age of music now in Nigeria takes consideration of commercial viability. Will the material sell in Alaba International? Will people buy this work? Will distributors make a kill from this album? In Nigeria now, the streets are not smiling, you either eat or get eaten. Understandable, considering the anarchy that currently pervades the land.
It is this marketability that has consumed the very soul of our music. It is often said that, for everything, there is a price. Our music today makes money even though they make very little sense.
How does one explain an adult man going into the studio for hours and the best he can come up with is 'free madness' or 'jonzing world'? How did we get to this point? One of the raves of the moment did an entire chorus with 4 simple words - Roll-on, Everytime, Gba Control.
Besides the senselessness of the lyrics these days, we now seem to focus on voluptuous half-naked women, expensive automobiles, night-clubs and premium brands of ethanol.
Explain to me in English how Olu Maintain croons 'Personality,... E tun wo boobie...that is all I see' (meaning, Personality...even look at her breasts...that is all I see) and he still gets women dancing. Or how Rayce sings 'Omoge...Shige e...Omoge...Shige e' (meaning, Lady, open your chest 2x). Amazing isn't it?
A hip-hop song in Nigeria today will not sell if the artiste does not talk about tossing dollar bills in the air and he does not recount how he buys Hennessy,Moet or Ace of Spades in the clubs every night. They know that's what a prodigal generation wants to listen to.
Unfortunately, I doubt strongly that my unborn son will be thrilled by Dami Duro or Gaga Crazy in 20 years time. Just as I now enjoy songs my father enjoyed, it'll be a pleasurable experience for my children to have the same. They certainly will not have that with 'Chop banana till you go yo'. No! Never, infact. I'm not speculating, I am certain!
What these artistes lack now is content. Bukola Elemide a.k.a Asa and Bisade Ologunde a.k.a Lagbaja are probably the only ones who will have a real shot at serenading our children. Without bias, kindly pick an Asa album or a Lagbaja album and listen to them. If you hear Hennessy, Bugatti or Dollars, please turn off the stereo and immediately let me know.
There's a message in every track. A salient and instructive message. The messages range from those of love and courtship, societal ills and bad governance to decorum and chivalry. Lagbaja continues to speak against bad leadership as Asa keeps reminding us of how we must wake up to our responsibilities as citizens and hold our leaders responsible. Please, listen.
There are also a few other folks who attempt to be constructive in their art. I have an eye on Nneka at the moment. She seems promising. The others need to attain a level of consistency to score points with me and a few people who I have conferred with who acquiesce with my perspective. I will understand though if they remain commercial in their work, after-all Ajala must eat after his sojourn.
Right now while Lagbaja's sonorous hits spews forth from my computer, there is a cacophony of new-age hip-hop bellowing in the background outside the room.
What the heck, shebi its to dance Azonto or Etighi...Lagbaja, gimme a minute, I'll be right back.
I'll have him and Asa for a lifetime anyway, the others are just till a new dance step evolves. So, why not?
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Much has been said about the failure of leadership as the bane of the continued existence of the nation of Nigeria.
To a large extent, I agree with this submission. I believe our leaders from the days of yesteryear have not particularly done us much good. Having said that, my worry also lies with the quality of the followers. The average Nigerian. We must not lose the sight of the fact the these flops that have ruled us in succession were once average citizens. They were average Nigerians.
Everyday, when I look around me, all I see are regular citizens whose actions go a long way in explaining why the nation is in the state it is in. We are quick to tongue-lash our errant leaders when we the citizens haven't been particularly the best of human beings.
Its not GEJ who has refused to stay on the queue at the toll-gate. That's you, an ordinary citizen, who has decided the other folks who have joined the queue quietly are stupid. Do we blame GEJ for that?
Its also not GEJ who drives the yellow and black buses in Lagos that decide to park and pick commuters in the middle of the road while obstructing traffic. No, those are average Nigerians. Why should GEJ take the fall for that?
Its Sunday morning and the time is 6am, the traffic lights are red. Lagos cars fly across those intersections, beating the stop lights. Why? Because its 6am and there's nobody to arrest offenders. Do I blame GEJ for that? No! Regular Average Nigerians.
The okada man wants to make an extra buck so he carries a fare across the expressway. On a road where it is clearly written that commercial motorcycle operators are not allowed. GEJ?
There's a lot of traffic on Ozumba Mbadiwe, we are all uncomfortable and on the other side of the road, facing oncoming traffic is a vehicle with federal government number plate. They suddenly have rights that regular citizens don't and they take one-way roads like no man's business. Is that GEJ?
Just yesterday, we were in traffic on Apongbon bridge and the car in front of mine stopped abruptly and the driver hurriedly flew out. I was taken aback at first and he promptly zipped down and peed on curb. Right in front of me. Note that he had duly obstructed traffic while he answered Nature's call. He didn't give a damn! Well, just like GEJ but I doubt we can blame GEJ for this absurd behavior.
I was once arrested by LASTMA staff for making an illegal U-turn. Even though there was no sign that indicated turns were prohibited at that spot, what amazed me more was that my accuser could have stood at the spot and easily indicated to me that turns were not allowed there. Instead, he took the effort and time to tactically position himself immediately at the point where I completed the arc of the U-turn and promptly arrested me for an offence he could have prevented me from committing. Amazing! That's not GEj, is it?
Its not magic that the country is how it is. It isn't rocket science either. We are where we are because of how we are. Nigerians are inherently wicked people. Please don't confuse religion and spirituality with holiness and purity. They are ages apart as typified by Nigerians. We are just professional church-goers. Our hearts are dark...just like those of our leaders.
A friend once posted on his BlackBerry one Monday morning 'Funny she's listening to serious gospel music yet she abuses everybody on the road'. Typical. The curses fly out of Nigerian lips at spinal level. Reflex actions! We bring out the worst out of each other in Nigeria. When he's driving fast, you say 'see this one driving like a madman'. If he drives slow, it's 'why is this one driving like a fool'. We've all sinned and come short of God's glory.
We must start to work on ourselves as 'average Nigerians'. We must begin from there. We must first change individually before we ask for more from our leaders. They missed the opportunity to be better people as regular citizens thus their gargantuan failure as nation leaders and policy makers.
Let those of us who are not there yet start to live properly. Follow the rules even when nobody's watching. If you succeed in playing by the rules when nobody's watching, it's very likely you'll do same when someone is indeed watching. Ask God to help you exorcise that unwholesome spirit of wickedness. Its not your fault, it is how the society has wired us to be, but it should not be terminal and incurable. We must yearn for a change and change ourselves first.
Until we do, our fervent criticism of our leaders would simply be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Follow 'Wole @drwalls28 on Twitter.
Recently, civilization was taken back by another century by the progressive minded BRF-led government in Lagos State. While men like El-Rufai and Japh Omojuwa endorsed the supposed timely decision of the Executive Governor, other more critically thinking ones thought the action was ill-advised, even ill-timed at its best.
The government under BRF threw out almost 800 of the doctors working across the state in the General Hospitals and the Teaching Hospital. Now, I will not delve into what may have precipitated this imbroglio. That is now spilled milk. Rather I will only, in passing, draw attention to the alacrity with which a learned man like BRF sacked the medical doctors. It was probably the most risible action I had ever seen taken by any government.
A lot of us know of PTSD. It is a psychiatric condition that typically follows exposure to a psychologically traumatic event. Typically, the condition is an anxiety disorder and the patient may display a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from anxiety to aversion to apathy.
What BRF and his goons have put the Medical Doctors in its employ through is arguably the worst form of PTSD. Aside from the sacked ones, even the unaffected ones have been infinitely cowered into their shells. They now cringe at the slightest batting of an eyelid by those in power. Some may argue that this was one of the actual objectives of the LASG. Some say the action was only designed to 'shake' the doctors and remind all the other civil servants in the State that there are indeed no sacred cows in the State civil service.
While the brouhaha lasted in the health sector, what worried me the most was the perception of the general public on the matter. I read with untold agony the derision and disrespect with which members of the public took the doctors to the cleaners. There was no derogatory name under the sun I didn't see in the newspapers. Suddenly, the doctors in Lagos were an anathema to the same people they laboriously toiled to offer medical services to. As far as Lagosians were concerned, the doctors were callous, ignoble and insolent.
Personally, after the recall to work, my own form of PTSD was in the form of apathy. Some others developed acute anxiety, some others aversion, some others actually developed the insolence they had been accused of inadvertently.
Every morning, I look into the faces of my colleagues at work. They smile when they can but beyond that, all I see is dejection and fear. There is no sense of fulfillment and the feeling of betrayal, not just from their employers and colleagues, but from the public is hard to miss. I then wonder, what quality of care these doctors will offer to the teeming patients who line up everyday to complain of one thing or the other.
You cannot give what you don't have and Newton also states that 'To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'. During the crisis, the public showed little empathy for the doctors and now, those doctors have unfortunately also lost some degree of empathy for the patients. Most of them will probably not admit it but it is very true.
Prior to the fracas, I remember vividly how doctors in my center occasionally even had to contribute money for some patients. For drugs, for transportation, for their meals sometimes. I have a doctor friend who routinely donates blood to patients as he feels he has enough and should help those who are in need of healthy blood. I know how doctors prick themselves with needles and risk their own lives just because someone's wife or husband or father or mother needs attention urgently. Just two days ago, someone I know had to give intravenous Aminophylline to a woman who suddenly collapsed from acute sever asthma. He didn't even ask for gloves, he was so desperate to save the lady's life that he put his at risk by using a sharp without universal precaution and safety. Foolish, isn't it? After-all, who begged him?
Interestingly, the LASG in its folly laid off its best doctors. Take it from me, it is a fact. All the doctors that they had on their side were actually the noxiously sly ones who were deemed to be 'faithful to Hippocratic Oaths'. It is only out of courtesy and civility that I will refrain from mentioning specific names, at least as concerns where I work.
Every day, I now see doctors who can't wait to leave the employment of the LASG. They are almost itching to leave and their body languages fail to conceal this fact. Already, the lucky ones have started tendering their resignations. The ones that have not, have only not done so but for paucity of 'greener pastures'. Again, unfortunately, those leaving are by far the best doctors in the employment of the LASG. A doctor who despises where he works and resumes at his duty post everyday thinking when and how he can resign from his employment is certainly not the doctor I would like to see if I were a patient. Thanks to LASG, these are the doctors left to attend to its citizenry. If they've not left yet, then they are certainly contemplating their exit actively. Again, what is the quality of care such a doctor will offer to any patient?
After all is said and done, who suffers? Our politicians do not patronize the hospitals. Their family members will not visit either. Who visits? It is the same people who eagerly vilified doctors in the newspaper comment sections. It is the market woman, it is the career civil servant, it is the artisan, it is the okada rider. These are the ones who will continually suffer for not just the attrition of doctors but also the decline in the quality of care offered by the remaining doctors.
A school of thought holds that the doctors can leave and allow the contract-staff doctors take up the appointments. A Yoruba adage says 'the cane the husband used to flog the old wife is behind the door awaiting the new wife'. I wish the new doctors the very best.
Ironically, the doctors are now patients suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress/Sack Disorder. Most may still be in denial of this condition. It is not totally out of place for them to be. The mere fact that they can hardly wait to get new jobs is enough evidence that the clinical condition is progressing. Soon, the apathy will become full blown and they'll damn consequences and leave the system to rot.
A recent report released shows that Nigeria has lost 20,000 of its trained doctors to foreign countries and that the United States alone captured 4,000 of this number. These figures I earnestly anticipate will grow in the coming days and weeks. I read a comment on Twitter by some non-entity, he said the doctors can all go, after-all what impact had they made all the while they've been here. This person is an educated person. Worrisome.
The acrimony and contempt with which the LASG has treated its doctors will not abate anytime soon. Instead the decay will deepen and the rot will spread. Gradually, doctors will become persona non grata in the country. This will not shock anyone, as it is surely in keeping with any society on the road to perdition. Having a hard time recognizing any society sitting on a time-bomb? Assess the education and health sectors. There, that's your answer.
Meanwhile, my unreserved appreciation to Mr Raji Fashola and his goons. That decision he took that fateful Monday morning has revolutionized the way I see the health sector and the outlook of Nigeria as a whole.
What would be the point of beating a very dead, now rotten, horse....
Follow 'Wole @drwalls28 on Twitter.
Has 'I love you' now become a cliche?
The Good Book is complete as we know, it is literal and except in passages where our Good Lord spoke in Parables, we can safely assume the rest parts are literal in their meanings and the message they were composed to deliver.
Recently, following an article I wrote about marriage, two of my very learned colleagues rubbed minds on the issue and the recurring decimal in their tilt was the word 'Love'.
Many of us know the famous passage in the Bible that defines love in its entirety. The thirteenth chapter of the first letter of Paul to the Apostles in Corinth. Yes, that popular chapter read at weddings all across the world every week.
'Love suffers long and is kind; Love does not envy; Love does not parade itself',it is not puffed up'.
We often hear of couples who today bicker over money. Women call radio shows to say 'He does not do anything around the house' and married men call to say 'She never has time, she's always at work'. Guess what, the Bible says long suffering is an element of love. We also hear women say they are having problems because they earn more than the husbands and thus control the finances on the home front. Men, being very egoistic, begin to see every altercation as a deliberate attempt by the woman to rub it in their faces. Love does not envy and is not puffed up i.e cocky.
'Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil'
Interesting. Can you love someone who you address in a rude manner? When things are not going well financially, can the man come home to eat and he won't hear how he has failed career-wise thus does not deserve any food. When she has upset you pretty bad, can you address her without snapping when she asks for the silliest things. Many folks talk of issues like family planning and the man says he wants 3 kids and later the woman decides 'Look, I want 4'. The couple have money together and she wants to buy seeming frivolities. As the husband, will you 'seek your own' by authoritatively admonishing her silliness and as the wife, will you seek your own by insisting on being prodigal. When she's ovulating and hormonally imbalanced and is consequently ranting on flimsy issues, can a man just smile and say 'okay' and not tell her to 'SHUT UP, AHN AHN KI LO DE'?
'Love does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth'
Recently. a guy I know had serious friction with the person he says he loves. He told her the truth about her weight and she snapped. He's still confused as to the place of truth-telling in relationships. I don't know either so I've sagely committed him and his matter into the Hands of the Most High Jehovah. How do we react to the truth? Even in its crudest form? They say the truth hurts/stings. Can you hurt someone you love? Where then is the balance between speaking the truth and not hurting the second person.
'Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things'
Hmmmm. Dicey part. What is the extent of what a spouse should bear when in love? The Bible was simply absolute here. It says ALL things. Geez, that's deep. You mean to tell me, a spouse should bear a man's bad habits? He can chase all the small girls in the office because she is supposed to bear and endure all things? She can wear lewd blouses and skirts to outings or add weight like a pregnant hippopotamus and he'll have to bear it. After-all, that's what love does? And domestic battery? Should she endure that too? What is the extent of what a young Nigerian woman should bear and endure in a marriage? Remember the story of Mrs. Ogo Onuchukwu?
'Love never fails'
Love has failed once it falls short on every and any of the aforementioned qualities. So its a totality. It cannot exist without one quality. Just like every part of a hand is important and cannot be done away with. Its all or nothing. It is either you are in love or you are not. It is not seasonal. It is a way of life. It is life itself. Scary, innit?
The argument I anticipate naturally, is that I took the qualities 'too literally'. This may infer that your spouse or partner isn't quite acing it as concerns any or all of the qualities of love and you want to justify this shortcoming by grammatically and spiritually faulting my point of view. I understand. I am not a pastor. I read a New Kings James version of the Bible written in English and my comprehension of the simple manner in which it was written is what I have simply opined.
The truth is I'm yet to see love as exemplified by Christ. To suffer untold torture and give up one's life for another is the ultimate test of love. Love is selfless. You lose yourself totally and absolutely. It will never make sense to you literally. Love is blind! Though these days, my dear Nigerian sisters insist Love is not blind and that it in fact armed with bifocal glasses and binoculars. Forget all the 'baby, I love you and I'll die for you' or 'baby, if you leave me, I'll die'. Wash wash.
The story of my friend amuses me till this day. He and the girl he claims he loves (and tells he loves) were driving around Surulere and suddenly gunshots rang out in the air. In a flash, my dear friend had disappeared from the wheels and left the damsel in distress. He reappeared after the chaos had subsided and she did not believe he just left her. When I asked him, he gave a classical response. 'Wole, if I stay and them shoot me and I die, she no go remarry?'
Humans are wired to be self-preservative, that's why we have our fight and flight hormones. To love like our Christ is to lose our human form. Some say it is almost impracticable. Others say it will come naturally when you are 'born again'. Chris Okotie is born again and just last month annulled his second marriage and is scheduled for a third one in December. I also know many born-again Christians whose marriages have gone awry, yet they remain Deacons and 'professional' Christians.
Love is different things to different people. To me, love is Jesus. I doubt I'll ever fully comprehend His act on that cross. Then again, maybe its not supposed to be comprehensible to the human mind.
So, as D'Banj asked in the intro of the 2008 hit wedding song...'Are you in love?'
Follow 'Wole @drwalls28 on Twitter.
'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For Thou art with me: Thy Rod and Thy Staff, they comfort me' Psalm 23 vs 4.
Nigeria, how did we get here?
In 1967, the drums of war sounded across our land. What followed were three grueling years of carnage that would send over a million human beings to the great beyond. The bone of contention then, was the attempted secession of the Igbos spearheaded by the enigmatic Dim Ojukwu. The Igbos simply wanted autonomy and at the time, this looked like too much to ask for. That war ended 42years ago. Did we truly ever recover from that dark period?
Nigeria, how did we get here?
Since the first bomb went of in 2010 in Abuja, things have spiraled out of control. Lately, the news in never complete everyday without reports of a few people killed in some part of the country either by a suicide bomber or by armed gunmen. Now, Sundays in the North are like visiting Iraq. You are almost sure a bomb would go off and a few more Nigerians would lose their lives.
Many theories have been propounded as to what birthed Boko Haram. Some say the Northers want to truncate Jonathan's government and thus have sworn to make the polity ungovernable. Others say, the South-South want secession and have gone about this agenda by unleashing terror on the North. Many conspiracy theories, many names murmured, many fingers pointed. Still, the fear is palpable in the land. Things have gone haywire.
Nigeria, how did we get here?
A few years ago, suicide bombing was particularly alien to us as Nigerians. Today, the SSS is asking us to watch our neighbors and be extra-cautious when we sight strange objects and people. Today, churches all over the Nigeria have deployed all sorts of metal detectors in a bid to forestall any attacks. Today, people in the South and West of Nigeria, urge their Christian brothers in the North to stay away from church until further notice. The same Nigeria.
When the civil war started in the sixties, it was solely an ethnic war. It was thus a specific war as you could tell what tribe was at war with which. Today, all the ingredients for another war are on our kitchen-top. We just need to start throwing them into the pot and start mixing. All the elements of a classical war are staring at us in the face. We are on the road to perdition.
I am not going to attempt to share blame. No, No at all. The truth is, we'll never get anything done if we keep searching for who owns what and who rules who. Rather, I wish to warn the simpletons in our midst who still believe all is well. To be forewarned, is to be fore-armed. The forecast is gloomy and the outlook is eerie.
The Yoruba adage that says a pre-announced war does not kill a crippled man captures it very well and aptly. We can pray from today till tomorrow, as long as we have all those pro-war ingredients and elements on our worktop, a war is what we will get. Only a crazy fellow lights a match inside a refinery and expects there won't be an inferno.
Nigeria, how did we get here?
Some of my colleagues now refer to me, albeit precociously, as Nostradamus. The prophet of doom of our era. It is certainly not a title I take pride in, but my cynicism and pessimism are not baseless.
The elements of religious bigotry and intolerance were not present when the 1967 war sparked. In 2012, we have all the rudiments that set off the Biafran war saga in addition to the religious angle. The religious part is more worrisome as there are two culturally and socially accepted creeds in the land, Christianity and Islam and these very two are those set on this collision course.
I don't care who started it. I don't care who rules Nigeria. I don't care who swallows his pride and becomes selfless. All I know is that we are in reverse gear and are at the edge of a cliff. Something urgent and drastic must be done if this entity called Nigeria is to remain as a unit.
Unfortunately, some of my friends from the South-South have openly admitted to me that they will have it no other way. They maintain that the oil is from their land and they have been marginalized for so long. Now they are at the helm of affairs and they intend to ride the horse and their luck as far as, sanely and insanely, possible. An interesting point of view, if you ask me.
To those of you who have the means to flee, please keep that outlet patent. Ensure you have a valid international passport with an entry visa to any country at all. Ghana, Kenya, Grenada, wherever. Just have it. Rain it shall...salvation lies in building the ark.
Nigeria, how did we get here?
I don't know and I honestly don't care.
I just know we are on the road to perdition.
Follow 'Wole @drwalls28 on Twitter.
